According to new research, stem cells may increase survival rates for many brain cancer patients. The research used a patient’s own skin cells to create stem cells that can help fight an aggressive form of brain cancer and prevent it from spreading.

The treatment was developed by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has been tested in a laboratory. The brain cancer in question is Glioblastoma, a very fast-growing form of cancer with a high mortality rate.

The current treatment for this form of cancer is surgery followed by radiation and/or chemotherapy to kill the remaining cancer cells. Unfortunately, the cancer often returns after the surgery because some cancer cells weren’t eliminated.

This new procedure using stem cells may increase survival rates by ensuring all cancer cells are eliminated. It has been tested successful on mice and will be progressing to human trials in the next few years.

The method uses a technique called direct reprogramming, where cells are directly into a form of stem cell ready for transplantation into the brain. Researchers take skin cells from the patient and reprogram them into induced “neuro-stem” cells, then use them to carry drugs into the brain.

These stem cells are very effective at hunting down tumour cells and kill them before they have a chance to proliferate. The cells naturally locate tumour cells and are the perfect delivery mechanism for anti-cancer drugs.

Researchers saw the survival rates of the mice used in the test dramatically improve — doubling and tripling. They hope that the treatment will be as successful in humans in the near future. They are already collecting glioblastoma tumours from patient biopsies to test the technique in vitro.

The technique may also be of great use for treating breast cancer, where the tumours can rapidly metastasise throughout the body.

Source: Stem Cells May Increase Survival for Brain Cancer Patients

{{cta(‘010124f3-c9bc-4a23-b9fc-74953e6288c9’)}}